Seeing As Jesus Sees [Part 13]

It's release week of Pastor Alan's latest book, Seeing as Jesus Sees, and only for the remaining days this week. When you order the book, let us know, and we're including the free audio book.

This week only, offer expires Friday. It's seeingasjesussees.org. That's seeingasjesussees.org.

Maybe for a listener right now, you think of someone you'd like to help. When you keep them in mind, wouldn't it be special to be able to minister to them with Jesus's own eyes of faith? So this is an invitation to start asking Jesus how he sees people, and I think he's going to show you truth and treasures about who they are.

That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching that's coming straight from the brand new book that's out now, Seeing as Jesus Sees, written by Pastor Alan Wright. This book has just released.

It's just launched, and you can get your hands on it today, right now, how a new perspective can defeat the darkness and awaken joy. In fact, when you get the book right now and you let us know, we're happy to send you, as our way of saying thanks, a daily reading guide, a study guide, a free copy of the audio book, and the companion video course. Again, this is all our thanks to you for supporting the launch right here during release week of Pastor Alan's new book, and this important message, Seeing as Jesus Sees. In fact, that's the name of the website, seeingasjesussees.org, where you let us know that you'd like to have these extra resources as an added bonus.

Seeingasjesussees.org or pastorallen.org. So, Pastor Alan, again, congratulations. Release week is off and running, and we are having a blast already hearing some great results. Well, it's just one of the most fun weeks to have a new book that's out and available now. And I'm so thankful that the publisher allowed us, for this week only, once it's been released, to still give people who buy the book a free audio book, along with other things we want to do. So, it's an exciting time, Daniel.

And I'm so excited about this message of Seeing as Jesus Sees. It's a result of a simple spiritual practice that I've been practicing now for some years, of just pausing throughout the day and saying, Jesus, how do you see this? Life gets busy. Life gets hard.

Life gets frustrating. And I think that maybe most of our problems are the result, directly or indirectly, of not seeing accurately. Satan is the father of lies, and that's what darkness is. It is the absence of light where you can't see things properly and get confused. And when we don't see things properly, we can really end up condemning ourselves, mistrusting or judging others, and despairing in the world. And also, as we've been learning and talking about, you miss out on the wonder of life. There's so much wonder and so much treasure.

What might we be missing? And so, how does Jesus see ourselves and others and the world? That's the question of the book. And it's an invitation to a simple spiritual practice that enables any reader to live a more spirit-filled life, a more spirit-led life, a life that's transformed not by trying harder to do what Jesus would do, but really seeing through his eyes.

So, I can't be more excited than release week. Hope all our listeners will hurry and get the book right away. And the book is really divided not only into chapters, as most books are, but also into sections or themes. And we've come through discussing here on the radio a theme of maybe seeing incorrectly, and then a theme of seeing yourself, how Jesus would see. And we're entering into this section where we're seeing others, and in this chapter of accepting and seeing beyond appearances. This is important. And in Dateline, you go back to the middle of the pandemic as you kick off this chapter, when we weren't seeing very much each other.

Yeah. Those of us that lived through it will never forget it when there was quarantine. And I remember after some weeks of being cooped up amid that quarantine of 2020, my niece was wanting to get out of the house, and so she took her two little ones to the park. And four-year-old Wesley spotted some other families in the distance, and as if at a zoo, blurted out, look mommy, people.

I loved it. They do exist. They do exist. Except for during quarantine, we take people for granted. Humans are actually the most exotic, amazing creatures on the planet.

As C.S. Lewis said, there are no ordinary people because no one is a mere mortal. It's people who matter ultimately, not things, not systems. We can get frustrated by a broken dishwasher or a broken institution, but nothing can hurt us like people. And we can get excited about a new car or a new workplace, but nothing can delight us like people. So that's why seeing people accurately matters so, so very much. Until we see people authentically and we're seen by them, we just, I don't think we can experience genuine love.

With genuine love, it means we see each other, and therefore we love honestly. Without it, our souls wither. I was taken by the fact learning that in one culture in Africa, instead of saying hello, people greet one another with the words, I see you.

And I like that. You know, American culture, we often say it's good to see you. But the question of this chapter in the book of which we'll talk about some of its highlights, the question is, do we see each other? Or do we see our preconception of each other?

And why is it so important that Jesus implores us to judge not? I know that authentic discernment of others is complicated, of course, and we're never going to perfectly understand people in this world. But wouldn't we like to be able to see people for their God-given value and their potential? And wouldn't it be wonderful to let go of needless resentments and frustrations and have compassion?

And maybe for a listener right now, you think of someone you'd like to help, and you keep them in mind. Wouldn't it be special to be able to minister to them with Jesus' own eyes of faith? So this is an invitation to start asking Jesus how he sees people. And I think he's going to show you truth and treasures about who they are.

That's Alan Wright, and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. Wondering what you need to do to find more freedom, wonder, and joy? What if you don't need to do more as much as see more? What if victorious breakthrough and enduring transformation comes not by striving, but by seeing? For years, Pastor Alan Wright has been practicing a new spiritual discipline, a simple prayer. Jesus, how do you see this?

It's brief enough for a single breath, but deep enough for lasting life change. It's a prayer Christ loves to honor because the Savior came to open blind and blurred eyes. Jesus is, after all, the light of the world. In his new groundbreaking book, Seeing as Jesus Sees, Alan Wright leads readers into a fresh kind of Bible study where they're invited in close side by side with the Savior to see themselves, others, and the world through Jesus' eyes. There's good news on every page because divine revelation and Spirit-filled living is a reserve for the spiritually elite. Every Christian can live with wide-eyed wonder and Spirit-revealed vision. For a limited time, when you ordered a book from Amazon or your favorite retailer, you'll receive over $100 of bonus resources. To order the book, visit SeeingAsJesusSees.org or come to our website, PastorAlan.org, and you'll also receive a free six-week Seeing as Jesus Sees companion video series from Pastor Alan, along with a study guide and a daily reading plan.

So place your order today with your favorite online book retailer and visit our website for instructions on receiving all the extra resources. Christ's call to discipleship isn't an invitation to strive to do what Jesus would do, but to come and see what Jesus sees. So pre-order your copy of Alan Wright's newest book and discover and start seeing yourself, others, and the world through Jesus' eyes. You know, it's often said that in the middle of a major metropolitan area, anything like part of Manhattan or something, you know, how could you feel lonely in such a crowded, busy city? But so often we find ourselves that way where we just, maybe we want to be, maybe we just want to go to a busy coffee shop and sit in a corner and not be noticed or recognized, just leave me alone. But at the end of the day, we all have a connection as members of the human race, and you have a story in here of some that you thought would not be interested in your story at all.

Well, isn't it, isn't it, isn't it funny? I think our listeners can identify with this, Daniel, that we tend to think that we know what someone is going to be like, even if we don't really know them. This is what judgment is, is we tend to think that we've already got them figured out. And why it's important to ask Jesus for his eyes is he sees people who they really are designed to be.

And I think he sees the potential in people. And I'd like to live more like that. But I tell the story in the book.

I'll give it in part, but get the book, read the whole story. It's funny. Last night of a great vacation in the warmth of Orlando in the middle of the winter, and the resort we're staying had a nice hot tub. It was a kind of a block walk away from our condo. And I wanted to get one last hot tub. I love sitting in those hot tubs and just take some of the Florida warmth home with me, you know, to the North Carolina winter, which had turned cold by that time. And so I go, it was a late evening, and I expected to find nobody in the Jacuzzi. I would just sit there in silent serenity.

Oh, just sponge up the warmth. So when I turned the corner to go to the pool, my heart sank because I heard voices at the hot tub. And I thought, oh, I wanted to just have the hot tub myself.

But then I peered through the gate. And worst case scenario, there are three young women there, smoking, drinking beer, chatting near the tub. And I thought about just turning around and leaving. But I so wanted to get in that hot tub one more time. So I go over and I just say, Good evening, ladies, I kick off my flip flops on the far side of this big hot tub. And I'm like, Don't let me interrupt you.

Just gonna get warm for a few minutes, if you don't mind. And I sat as far from them as I could. And I didn't want them to even think I wanted to talk to them. You know, I was giving them every verb nonverbal cue. That just says, please don't say anything to me. I closed my eyes. I wasn't talking to them. And suddenly, one of them interrupted it and said, Where are you from? And I gave it the real Kurt response, you know, where it's like, I don't want to talk to you sort of tone. Yeah. And so I just said, North Carolina, you know, and given the cue, don't talk to me. But that didn't work. And she followed it saying, the question I most didn't want her to ask, what do you do?

Yeah, yeah. Sometimes, Daniel, I think only a pastor can understand. Sometimes, sometimes I hate to say it, but you just don't want someone to know you're a pastor. Because when non Christians find out they can get weird, right. And Christians sometimes they just, you know, want to talk about all their problems because you're a pastor.

And I just want to soak in the tub. I didn't want to either one of those things this particular night. So I thought about, I thought about telling the woman I'm an author, you know, it just is letting it be at that. But I knew she'd follow it up. And she'd asked me, what do I write about? And then I'd have to say Jesus.

And then we'd be right back to the same problem where we were before. Right. So I said, well, sorta, I'm well, a pastor. So there's a lot more to be said about this story. But let me just confess here up front.

Number one, I did not practice what I preach. I didn't ask Jesus how we saw these women. You know, most times we don't.

Yeah. We think we know. We think we know. And I didn't pause. I didn't say, well, Jesus, how do you see these women? And secondly, the reason I didn't ask was I was positive.

These women had no interest in spiritual things. I just thought, I don't know how long they've been out here drinking beer. Are they half drunk? How well, you know, I mean, I'm just those quiet thousand little judgments that you make. And sometimes it's just cause we're so sure we know the problem. And we'll come back later to the, to the women in the hot tub. Cause there's a fun, it's a funny story, but what it makes me think about is what is involved when you ask Jesus for his eyes, I think you start seeing a person as a person. And there are a lot of stories that we could turn to, to start learning from how Jesus looks at people. But one in particular is a story where Jesus actually uses those words and he says, do you see this woman?

And I think that's the question. Do you, do you really see past all of the other judgments and see a person remember in this book, we don't do ordinary Bible study. We're not looking at Jesus.

We're not looking at Christian principles. We're trying to look through Jesus' eyes. So it's an invitation to come and turn your imagination on and see as Jesus sees. So Pastor Alan, I've got to ask about this line that you wrote in here is we're seeing through Jesus' eyes and we're thinking about seeing others. You have a line where you talked about how Jesus allowed an outrageous anointing.

Yeah. So imagine you're there. That's the way we're doing Bible study. Imagine yourself there next to Jesus. So the popular visiting rabbi has taught at the synagogue and you get an invitation to join a select group at a Pharisee's house for a Sabbath dinner in Jesus' honor.

So imagine it. Are you nervous? Delighted? When you find out that you're going to be seated immediately next to the Nazarene prophet himself and you know it'll be an unforgettable evening, an unforgettable meal. Well, maybe you've been to these sorts of dinners before, so you know it's culturally acceptable for curious onlookers to gather in the courtyard. They'll peer in through the open windows hoping to catch a glimpse of the celebrity teacher or maybe hear some words of the conversation. So you recline at the table, your feet extended behind you, and you're paying little attention to the servants that are bustling about in the crowd peering through the open windows with all this activity and movement.

It's not surprising. No one notices when a woman slips in behind you and bends at the feet of Jesus. But then you notice the room grows quiet. Several people gasp and you wonder, are people looking at me?

What are they looking at? And you always know they're looking at the woman who's crouching behind Jesus' feet. And when you turn to see who she is and what she's doing, you can hardly believe your eyes.

You know she is a woman of the city, a sinner, Luke 737. She's weeping uncontrollably, her tears raining onto Jesus' feet. And you watch as the woman violates every social protocol and unbinds her head covering and dabs Jesus' feet with that flowing hair.

And you can smell the fragrance already wafting through the room from that thin-necked alabaster flask that had been around her neck. And the whole room's engulfed in the aroma, and she's kissing his feet and wetting them with her tears and anointing them with this expensive ointment. And you, like everyone, is wondering how Jesus will respond and will he just pull his feet back? But instead, he allows the outrageous anointing. He's allowing a sinner to be near him and touch him and worship him.

It's just a scene of beauty and scandal, of love and impropriety. And just as you're wondering how Jesus sees it all, just imagine, we're using our imagination here. He leans toward you, imagine it, and whispers in your ear, I know what Simon the Pharisee is thinking. Maybe you whisper back, you do? Jesus says, yes, he's thinking if this man were a prophet, he would have known what sort of woman this is who's touching him. Are you sure that's what Simon's thinking? Maybe you ask him.

Yes, I'm sure Jesus whispers. He thinks he knows what I'm thinking that I don't know about this woman's reputation. Is it an ironic, Jesus says.

He's so wrongly thinks he knows what I'm thinking, is completely unaware that I know truly what he is thinking. That is ironic. And what else is ironic, maybe Jesus says, is that the leading religious teacher of the community is the one who has the least clue who I am. This Pharisee who should know all the prophecies and scriptures and most easily recognize me as the Messiah is blind. And this dear woman, an outcast in others eyes sees me for who I am and has come to worship me.

Ah, now you're wondering, I see what you mean, Jesus. Alan Wright, our good news message from the book, Seeing as Jesus Sees. And by the way, the chapter we're covering today is all about accepting as we're seeing others the way Jesus sees. The book is out now and available wherever you find good books. And we encourage you to get the book.

And then once you've done that, before too many days pass, let us know. Get in touch with us at seeingasjesussees.org or pastorallan.org online. Just let us know you've gotten the book and we'll then be happy to send you as much as we can. We'll then be happy to send you as our thanks a free copy of the audio book, a daily reading guide, a study guide, and a companion video course as our thanks for supporting the launch of this important message in this new book. Pastor Alan is back in the studio here sharing a part in good news, a thought of inspiration to See as Jesus Sees in just a moment. Wondering what you need to do to find more freedom, wonder, and joy?

What if you don't need to do more as much as see more? What if victorious breakthrough and enduring transformation comes not by striving, but by seeing? For years, Pastor Alan Wright has been practicing a new spiritual discipline, a simple prayer. Jesus, how do you see this?

It's brief enough for a single breath, but deep enough for lasting life change. It's a prayer Christ loves to honor because the Savior came to open blind and blurred eyes. Jesus is, after all, the light of the world. In his new groundbreaking book, Seeing as Jesus Sees, Alan Wright leads readers into a fresh kind of Bible study where they're invited in close, side by side with the Savior to see themselves, others in the world through Jesus's eyes. There's good news on every page because divine revelation and spirit-filled living isn't reserved for the spiritually elite.

Every Christian can live with wide-eyed wonder and spirit-revealed vision. For a limited time, when you've ordered a book from Amazon or your favorite retailer, you'll receive over $100 of bonus resources. To order the book, visit SeeingAsJesusSeas.org or come to our website, PastorAlan.org, and you'll also receive a free six-week Seeing as Jesus Sees companion video series from Pastor Alan, along with a study guide and a daily reading plan.

So place your order today with your favorite online book retailer and visit our website for instructions on receiving all the extra resources. Christ's call to discipleship isn't an invitation to strive to do what Jesus would do, but to come and see what Jesus sees. So pre-order your copy of Alan Wright's newest book and discover and start seeing yourself, others, and the world through Jesus's eyes.

Back here now with Pastor Alan and a closing inspiration directly from the new book, Seeing as Jesus Sees. Well, just for fun, let's go back to that hot tub in Florida that I was describing previously. If you missed that part, it's about when I went to the last night of a vacation in the middle of January in Florida and went to get in the hot tub, and there were three ladies there. I was just sure that they are, you know, not at all going to be people interested in spiritual things, drinking beer and smoking and kind of crude talk, and I'm just trying to be quiet in the other end of the tub, but one of them started talking to me, and I was being rude, to be honest about it, I was being rude, and they kept asking me questions. And finally, I told them I was a pastor, and one of them said, are you a Lutheran? I said, no. She said, oh, I thought maybe you were Lutheran because we met a Lutheran pastor earlier.

I thought, what is this clergy day at the hot tub? And she said, what are you then? I said, well, I'm Presbyterian. She said, do you mind if I smoke? I said, no, sure, I don't mind. One of them said, well, I'm Catholic, but I don't go to mass very often.

What's the difference between Presbyterians and Catholics? I still wasn't in the mood to talk, so. Which time do you have? I know, I was kind of a smart aleck, and I said, well, how long is your priest homily?

She said about 12 minutes. I said, well, there you have it. My sermons are about 40 minutes long, and they didn't really get the joke, and I felt a little convicted by my smart aleck remarks. So I began to talk to them, and Daniel, what happened after that was truly beautiful. We'll leave it off here and hope that people run out and get the book, hear the end of this story of what can happen in a hot tub, when eventually something inside me goes, Jesus, how do you see these women? Ask yourself, Jesus, how do you see me? Jesus, how do you see others? Jesus, how do you see the world? When you see with His eyes, it changes everything. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Alan Wright Ministries.